1. Field of the Invention:
The invention relates to comminution of reactive metals, such as zirconium, hafnium, and titanium, in a non-reactive atmosphere.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
Reactive metals have long been subjected to comminution in so-called "glove chambers" filled with a non-reactive gas, such as argon, and provided with heavy rubber gloves sealed in a wall or walls of the closed chamber and arranged to receive a hand and arm of an attendant standing outside the chamber for permitting such attendant to manipulate apparatus sealed within the chamber.
A disadvantage of past practice has been that the fresh metal surfaces of the resulting particles are chemically very active and inevitably take up some oxygen and some nitrogen, which are regarded as contaminants.